Blame
by MeredithBrody
Summary: After once again missing out on catching Baitfish, Brody tries to convince Pride he isn't to blame. (Prody - ep tag for 1x17)


**So, after that episode I literally couldn't not write things. This is probably the first of many post eps for this episode, written by both me and others (notably PinkAngel17 and StephNCIS). Anyway. This is obviously a tag for 1x17 "More Now" and I can guarantee there will be more when I've rewatched. As always, read and review.  
Shin xx**

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There was something about this room, this bedspread, that reminded her of home. Her teenage bedroom had had an almost exact bedspread, and she had taken advantage of that. Why she was waiting here when she probably shouldn't have even been up here was another matter entirely. This case was pushing Pride to the limit. The absolute limit of what anyone could be expected to deal with. Now she just wanted to make him care for himself, and entrust part of the case to someone else. When she heard the door open she just sat back and crossed her legs, waiting for him to find her. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you." She admitted, completely unsurprised that his first question had been what, not why. Why was probably easy, what she was doing sounded so much less interesting. There were things that had happened that she just wanted to make sure he knew she was there for. She'd told him she had his back, this was her demonstration of that.

"Why?" Pride's face clouded, and it was obvious he knew why she was here. He didn't need to ask her really, but he wanted to hear her say it, probably. She had been worried about him. She'd been worried enough to mention it to LaSalle, though he'd mostly blown her off about it.

"I wanted to check that you were OK, after everything that's gone on the last few days." She knew he probably was OK, or would be. Right now though he looked exhausted, and she was sure he was hungry too. He hadn't seemed to take a single break while they were searching, and that worried her.

"Brody, I'm fine." He groaned, and that proved to her that she was right. he had known all along why she was there. That she was there to check up on him, probably in a way he hadn't expected.

"You don't look fine." She argued back. In this situation him being her boss wasn't even corssing her mind. She simply didn't care. Let them gossip if they wanted to. He needed some tough love and she was the only person there willing to give it, though she was sure Laurel would help. "When was the last time you slept, or ate?"

"I slept last night for a while." He defended, but he still sounded worn out even doing that. That was another sign to her that he desperately needed to sleep. She would work on that, but the food and the mood were probably the things she should focus on first.

Alright, she'd accept that, though she was certain the 'little while' he mentioned was maybe an hour or two. She knew he hadn't been making food though, and that meant that he needed to eat. "Ate?"

"I don't know, this morning." She doubted that. She hadn't seen him eat since he'd gotten back from South Carolina.

"Look I know this case had you on edge, I know." Had it really only been a month since the _Moultrie_ investigation? She had been obsessing about that moment for so long she didn't know what it felt like not to be. She knew the lure, and he needed to hear what she had to say. "I know what it feels like to obsess over one moment for what feels like an eternity. You made me face mine, you've been there every step of the way, ready to catch me if I fall and back me up when I need. Let me do the same for you."

"I don't know if I'm ready to face it." There was a sadness to his voice that broke Brody's heart. She was in so much pain hearing him talk that way that she just wanted to wrap him up and tell him that everything would be OK.

"You have to." That was the harsh truth of these situations. Eventually you had to face the thing you were avoiding and hope that it wouldn't really matter that you were ignoring it to begin with. Pride had pulled her into doing that a month earlier. "Remember what you said. It's best you just face it head on."

"Meredith." He whispered and ended up pressing his forehead against hers. It was quite an intimate position, and given that they were now sat like that it was easy for her to cup his face with his hands and try to infuse him with her confidence and trust.

It was then she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him against her chest. He didn't protest at all as she did. He just collapsed against her then wrapped his arms around her waist. She was certain that in this situation, what was best went out the window, and she ended up running her fingers through his hair. "Just let go, King. I'll catch you."

"She played me, Merri." Sasha. The woman they had thought was just another victim, should have been just another suspect. They had pulled her out, set her up. They'd thought she was on the straight and narrow. It was amazing how things could be hidden even when it's right under your nose.

"She played us all." Brody comforted, because she had. They had all thought she was a victim, that she was in troubled. None of them had seen through her routine. Now they knew, and they'd be able to try and catch her.

"I can't believe I didn't see through her." Pride muttered again, giving Brody a light squeeze. She'd expected him to move by now, to cite some sort of professionalism and pull away, but she was glad that he didn't. It made her feel more helpful to know he was taking comfort.

"None of us did. It's not your fault." She was going to keep telling him that. Because it wasn't his fault. Baitfish wasn't his fault and Sasha wasn't his fault. Not one thing going on here was his fault, but Pride had convinced himself that it was.

"It's not easy to tell yourself that." He commented, and that made her realise she'd been right. After the _Moultrie_ and Emily and everything else that had come out about her a month earlier, she knew all about that.

"Believe me, I know." She smiled and pulled back, thinking that he needed to try and do some of this for himself. While she already missed having him pressed there, she knew he was going to need food and sleep. Then he'd process better. It was time she pushed that. "I'm going to go make you a sandwich. Then you're gonna sleep, I'll even sleep here if I have to."

"You don't have to do that." He told her, but she didn't care. Maybe she didn't have to do it, but he was her friend and this was what people did for their friends when they were in need. This was important to her.

"I know I don't have to. I want to." She smiled and lifted his chin. He needed to know that she wasn't doing this out of pity, but out of friendship and companionship. She wanted to be here, and she wanted to help him. "There is a difference."

He sat and looked at her seriously again, and that was when she realised that he was thinking more about what had happened, and more in the sense of what he'd done than anyone else. "I'm sorry, about the last few days." He said, and she just rolled her eyes. As far as Brody could see, he had nothing to apologise for.

"You don't need to be. You know the details of what I obsessed over for 8 years. Still obsess over now, just less." She would probably always obsess about her mistake, and about what she could have done to change it. But she wasn't going to let him think she'd let him do that. They would find Baitfish, and he'd pay for what he'd done to their family. "We have allies in this King. We'll find him."

"I know we will." He admitted, and that was the first time she'd seen a glimmer of hope in him since this had started. "Thank you, for being here."

"I'm here til the end." She smiled, then was taken by surprise as he leant forward and kissed her gently. When she returned the pressure he moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her, deepening the kiss. When they finally broke apart she just had a goofy grin on her face, and he finally seemed a little more light.

"Now about that sandwich." She laughed at the fact he'd even remembered that. She had promised him a sandwich a few minutes earlier though, and since he never got to eat the one a couple of days ago it seemed only fair that she make another. Then she was going to make him sleep. No matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to catch Baitfish if he didn't sleep.


End file.
